Bruins reportedly interested in Finnish goalie Vehanen

Petri Vehanen recently left the KHL to return to his native
Finland, joining Rauman Lukko. But if reports from a Finnish website are correct, his stay back home
may not be a lengthy one.

Petri Vehanen stopped all 26 shots he
faced in a 1-0 win over Slovakia at the World Championship on
Sunday.

The article indicates that two teams are interested in the
34-year-old netminder's services. One of them is the Boston
Bruins.

The B's goaltending situation has been debated heavily of late.
Tuukka Rask -- also notably from Finland -- is set to become a
restricted free agent on July 1. Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Tim
Thomas' no-movement clause expires on the same day, enabling Boston
to trade the veteran before the final season of his four-year, $20
million dollar contract.

Vehanen spent the last three seasons with Kazan Ak-Bars in the
KHL. He won the Gagarin Cup twice as champion of the KHL. In
2011-12, he had a 16-17-5 record with a 2.35 goals-against average
and .916 save percentage.

The website indicated that Vehanen has an out-clause and can
pursue a deal with an NHL club prior to the start of the
season.

At present, he is representing Finland at the World
Championship. He posted a 1-0 shutout in his first appearance,
blanking Slovakia 1-0 on Sunday.

Making things more interesting in Boston's potential pursuit of
Vehanen is the current contract status of Anton Khudobin, who is
entering the second season of his two-year deal with the B's. He'll
be on a one-way deal in 2012-13, meaning the Bruins will not only
have to pay him $800,000 regardless of whether he's in Providence
or with the big club, but will also face the risk of losing him on
waivers if he's called up at some point during the season -- a
required part of the process for players not on two-way deals.